Typically, many motor vehicle operators often carry emergency roadside kits in their vehicles in case the motorist is in an accident, the vehicle becomes disabled, or in the event that other emergencies occur, such as bad storms, for example. A typical roadside kit may contain items commonly needed during an emergency, such as flares and the like to let other motorists know that the vehicle is disabled.
In other situations, motor vehicles sometimes have problems when they are moving on roads. Often, disabled vehicles may stop on the road, whereby it is very important for the driver of the disabled vehicle to be able to provide an adequate signal to oncoming traffic so that other drivers may take precautionary measures to evade the problematic vehicle on the road. When vehicles stop on highways where other vehicles are moving at extremely high speed, the provision of adequate warning signals become key to avoid unnecessary and catastrophic accidents.
Drivers may often have to stop by the side of the road, for example, to change a tire. When the driver gets out of the car, the driver subjects himself to the danger of being hit by passing cars. Typically, a driver will activate his installed emergency hazard warning lights, which cause the standard turn signal lights, taillights and headlights, or other appropriate lights, which are located on the lower portion of the vehicle. These emergency hazard lights will typically blink on and off in order to inform other drivers that the driver has stopped. Depending on lighting conditions, however, it is sometimes difficult for other drivers to see the warning lights, thereby subjecting the driver of the disabled vehicle to risk. This may be problematic because approaching vehicles cannot see the flashing taillights until they are quite close to the disabled vehicle.
Flares are another conventional warning device for use with disabled motor vehicles. Flares have an advantage of being easily visible at night. However, a motorist who drives past one or more flares may be temporarily blinded by their brightness, thereby endangering the motorist and people in the vicinity of the motorist. The flare is particularly dangerous to use where an automobile collision causes a spillage of gasoline on a roadway. Among other undesirable aspects of the flare is that a person charged with igniting the flare risks being burned and having their clothing burned. Flares may also release noxious fumes when they burn.
In addition, many people may be uncomfortable using flares, either because they do not know how to use them properly or because they are afraid they will be burned. As a result, a stranded motorist might be limited to using the installed emergency hazard lights to warn other motorists or to assist emergency response personnel in locating the vehicle.
In the boating industry, flares are typically used to indicate a vessel in peril. The use of a flare on a gasoline powered boat, however, is very dangerous since a boat in peril is not moving, thus the opportunity for gasoline vapor accumulation may be high. Once a flare is lit, the flare must be held over the side of the boat to prevent the hot molten materials from entering the vessel. Further, unlike a road side situation, a flare cannot be set down safely within a boat.
Another one of the most commonly used hazard markers is the orange cone. The orange cones may sometimes not readily be seen outside of an immediate area where the cone is placed, particularly in poor weather conditions. The cones may also frequently be destroyed or badly damaged when inadvertently struck by a motor vehicle.
These conventional warning devices have several disadvantages. For example, some conventional warning devices are so small in size that the reflective surfaces bearing the warning signals on the conventional warning devices are barely noticeable so that drivers of incoming traffic may not notice the disabled vehicle.
Another disadvantage is that drivers may need to or be required to erect and remove the warning sign at a distance from the vehicle. Since the warning sign may need to be erected at a distance from the disabled vehicle, there must be a substantial time gap between stopping of the disabled vehicle and complete erection of the warning sign. This may create danger to the driver of the disabled vehicle.
Yet another disadvantage is that it may be very difficult for the warning signs to be used effectively when weather conditions are poor. For example, since the size of the warning sign is usually small, when the weather condition is poor, drivers of the incoming traffic may not notice the sign. In addition, since the warning sign is separately erected at a distance from the disabled vehicle, it may easily be toppled when the warning sign is used in poor weather condition. Therefore, a need exists for a highly visible warning device that may be conveniently stored in a typical vehicle.